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BioShock Technical Information
Information on the technology and technical requirements of BioShock. Engine :Note: This information applies to the original release of BioShock. BioShock was originally going to run on an enhanced version of the Vengeance engine, the highly modified version of Unreal Engine 2.5 technology used by previous Irrational Games titles, Tribes: Vengeance, SWAT 4, and SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate. However, in an interview at E3 in May 2006,[http://360.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=7461&pg=3 E3 06: BioShock Interview Transcript] Ken Levine revealed that "we've moved to Unreal Engine 3.0, we've done a lot of modifications on top of it," particularly to the way the engine handles water effects, which he claims will be very impressive, "We've hired a water programmer and water artist, just for this game, and they're kicking ass and you've never seen water like this." BioShock utilizes the DirectX 10 feature set when available, but it also runs on older DirectX 9 hardware.The Cult of Rapture, 2kgames.com Note that Shader Model 2.0 cards such as the ATI X800XT or X850XT require a community-developed and (as of 2007) imperfect modification to run BioShock.Forums, 2kgames.com Official requirements Original Release Announced on BioShock's official site and at E3 2007, the official system requirements for BioShock are as follows. Game Activation BioShock on the PC initially had a limited number of "Activations", which would eventually stop the owner from installing the game altogether. This was criticized by the community, since a game that can only be installed and played a limited number of times is a rental, not a purchase. As of June the 20th, 2008, all activation limitations were removed, meaning the game can be installed on an unlimited number of computers. Activation in BioShock (PC) originated from a new version of copy protection by Securom, which actively monitors the number of times the owner has installed and/or activated the purchased copy of BioShock and would eventually stop the owner from using the game altogether. At the time of game's shipping, purchasers were only allowed to activate the game twice. An activation was also used up every time the game was played from a new user account. This meant that when the game was originally shipped, if the owner installed the game from an administrative account, then only one person could play the game. If the owner ever needed to reformat or reinstall the game, he or she would not be allowed to do so. Although this activation limit was later upped to five times on a single machine, this number of installations would still run out fairly quickly amongst people who regularly updated their machines."Updates on Securom, PC Activation, and a Technical FAQ" article on The Cult of Rapture As of October 11th, 2007, an "Activation Revoke Tool" was posted to the Cult of Rapture website. This allowed activations on a computer to be revoked, effectively allowing the recovery of all five activations, assuming this is done prior to uninstallation, updates or change of hardware."BioShock Activation Revoke Tool Available Now" article on The Cult of Rapture It is also possible to have the support team manually revoke the activations from the server in the case of multiple formats or hard drive crashes (and thus replacements), and in special cases extra activations may be given should a legitimate activation key be provided. If multiple revoke/access attempts have taken place from several different IP addresses, proof of purchase may also be required.The Revoke Tool on the 2K Games BioShock support site As of June 19, 2008, 2K Games removed the activation limit, allowing users to install the game an unlimited number of times. However, online activation remains mandatory."BioShock PC Install Limit Lifted, DRM Remains (Updated)" article by Aaron Linde at ShackNews.com BioShock: The Collection Announced on Steam.BioShock: The Collection PC Upgrades References Category:BioShock Category:Technical Information